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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25744129">Fairy Tale</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/EaSnowPw/pseuds/EaSnowPw'>EaSnowPw</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Curses, M/M, Magic, Muteness, Soulmates</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:00:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,720</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25744129</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/EaSnowPw/pseuds/EaSnowPw</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Strange, I have a problem. I can’t speak. I mean, I can, but nobody can understand me!” Tony texted. “That stupid wizard from yesterday tossed some sparkles at me!”</p>
<p>“I know you won’t like this answer, but magic is a slow discipline. I’ll need to do some research," Stephen replied.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tony Stark/Stephen Strange</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>333</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Snow's ironstrange dump</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Fairy Tale</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>They’d been fighting an enemy sorcerer - same old, same old. Tony wouldn’t even consider it an interesting battle, particularly after Stephen showed up. At that point, it became an internal affair, which was why Tony could be forgiven for feeling a bit out of his depth. As per usual with Stephen. Not worth a special mention.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What made the battle more memorable was that the stupid wizard blew up a building in order to secure his escape. Tony managed to follow him while Stephen was distracted conjuring shields, his clothes inefficient protection compared to Tony’s armour.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re making a huge mistake,” the evil warlock warned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s supposed to be my line. Hands up, Voldemort!” Tony retorted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The villain of the week tossed some sparkles at Iron Man, then fled while the other was busy defending himself. Tony activated his shields, but nothing happened. No explosion, nothing. It had only been a distraction. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annoyingly enough, it worked. He lost the stupid wizard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you get him?” Stephen asked, popping up behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He distracted me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sorcerer sighed but said nothing more. It wasn’t like they could do anything at this point. Their opponent had escaped. Stephen tried to perform a tracking spell, but the other had covered his tracks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They each went their separate ways, returning to their hero lairs. Tony thought nothing of those sparks at the end. He thought it had simply been a misfire, after all, he’d seen plenty of those while he had been training with Stephen, some even more ridiculous.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The next day he wished he had told his sorcerer about the sparks. He hadn’t even noticed the change at first, but when Pepper came to talk to him, his new problem became apparent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tony, stop being ridiculous! Talk to me. I know you want to avoid the paperwork, but this is childish even for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tried to explain to her that he was talking to her. What came out was apparently gibberish, because she got angry and left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Friday, please tell me you can understand me,” he tried to say.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Boss, Ms. Potts has already left. You can return to your normal speech pattern.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony screamed in frustration.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Stephen was meditating when his phone vibrated. He took his sweet time returning to his body. A text was definitely not an emergency. Most people knew to call and insist if he was needed. His phone buzzed again while he was unwinding, stretching his extremities. Finally, just as he went to pick up the phone, it vibrated again with a few texts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Strange, I have a problem. I can’t speak. I mean, I can, but nobody can understand me!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“That stupid wizard from yesterday tossed some sparkles at me!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“HELP!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“NOTICE ME, MERLIN!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Buzz”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a confused frown, the sorcerer called the other man and told him to come to the sanctum. The responding bird-talk was further proof of the issue presented in text.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sorcerer stood up and headed towards the sanctum library.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Tony Stark had come prepared. He’d brought a phone which turned whatever he was typing into holograms. Stephen had to give him points for innovation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Could you describe the gestures he used and what the spell looked like?” Stephen asked. That should narrow it down, if only a little.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony nodded, then began typing on his phone. After a few moments, a new hologram came up. It was a video of the previous battle. It fast-forwarded to the moment Stephen had been left behind, then returned to normal speed. The sorcerer watched with interest, humming in thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“So?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> appeared in bright red.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you won’t like this answer, but magic is a slow discipline. I’ll need to do some research.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The question remained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know how long it will take. An hour, a few days, maybe months.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A horrified emoticon popped up. Tony was mirroring it quite nicely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will do my best.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Can I help?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Depends. How’s your Sanskrit?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Friday is fluent.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fair enough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright then. Follow me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It would go faster if they both worked at it.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>It quickly became apparent that this was no easy job. Tony managed to browse through books with a decent speed, but he was no match for Stephen who seemed to be just flip though the floating tomes. Two at a time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"Do you even read them?"</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The hologram popped up in front of Stephen's face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes. Of course. Most don't even have anything to do with your problem," the sorcerer explained. "Would you like a break?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"Dinner? On me."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't mind."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"What do you want?"</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Chinese?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony offered a thumbs up, then they placed their order online.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They ate in relative silence, not that Tony was much of a conversation partner for the time being.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I understand if our latest failure discourages you,” Stephen eventually said, noticing that the other man looked rather down. “This can go on for a long time or we can bump into the answer early on. If we’re not getting closer to an answer within the week, I can ask others to help us with the research.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“No one else knows what this is?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I sent word to Kamar Taj. Wong doesn’t know, for one, but he will ask around. Spells like this are unfortunately rather common. People tend to get annoyed easily by those who are overly talkative.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An angry emoji popped up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will not retract my words. Though, I do not know why our enemy would choose to do this to you. Albeit inconvenient, it doesn’t remove you from the battleground.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony didn’t write anything, but he looked thoughtful. Eventually, he typed something on his phone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Communication?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, it does mess up communication, therefore teamwork. However, it doesn’t interfere with your ability to follow orders, just give them.” Again, the sorcerer was smirking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony reacted with another angry emoji. Stephen chuckled.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t make much progress that day, so Stephen sent Tony home in the evening. No need to put too much energy into a project that was mostly an inconvenience. Tony wasn’t under imminent threat and he’d managed to work around the curse. No big deal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The next day, he was proven wrong. Very wrong.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Tony was at the sanctum first thing in the morning, waving his arms wildly. It took Stephen longer than he was willing to admit to realize that the billionaire was speaking in sign language.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Slower, I’m really rusty…” the sorcerer complained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“My texts are rubbish now too what is going on?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tony signed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh… this should narrow it down,” was the eloquent and reassuring answer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The engineer looked outraged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m not your school project, you asshat!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stephen shrugged, then teleported both of them into the library. It didn’t take him long to find the right spell now that he had extra data.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I know what curse was used.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Perfect.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s of the true love’s kiss variant.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Are you shitting me?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tony signed, wide-eyed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wish. Come see. This curse can only be broken by a kiss from one’s soulmate.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony had to see for himself, but yes, that was the case. He was a lamer Sleeping Beauty.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“And if not?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You will lose a means of communication every sunrise,” Stephen replied. For the first time, he looked worried. Being unable to speak was one thing. Slowly losing all ability to communicate with others was a real curse and he wouldn’t wish it upon his worst enemies.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The engineer was appalled. He lifted his hands, then dropped them, helpless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will look into a magical fix, but finding your true love might be easier,” the sorcerer offered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Soulmate. Not easier. At all.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tony repeated the last two words a few times to get his point across.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you could start with people you have dated in the past. Those for whom you’d had feelings. Maybe it’s one of them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“No happy ever after?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not uncommon for people to lose their soulmates because of various circumstances. As it is, maybe it’s Miss Potts and you’ll be free of this curse by lunch. Or… I honestly can’t remember anyone else, but it’s your life. I’ll start looking into books. You probably have people to talk to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony just nodded with a defeated sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s alright. If it’s not someone familiar, I will find a counterspell. Bad comes to worse, I’ll enlist the other masters and make it,” Stephen reassured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Thank you.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t Pepper. Or Rhodey. Or Steve. Or any of the Avengers. Or his friends. Tony hadn’t exactly had high hopes, but he </span>
  <b>had </b>
  <span>hoped… in vain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the next day, he was left with facial expressions and nothing else. Stephen hadn’t slept that night and he’d recruited others by then. He didn’t know what would be left after facial expressions. The sorcerer was pretty sure that nothing would remain. Tony was in a similar state. He’d exhausted the people he was moderately attracted to within 24 hours and now he was back to library duty.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll get this done,” Stephen assured him for the millionth time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d let the others do the reading and was working on creating a spell himself. As far as Tony understood, that could take years, even for a genius.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony hated feeling helpless. He hated waiting for others to help him. He hated sitting still and being unable to contribute anything. He couldn’t even work. His notes were just a pile of garbage that even Friday couldn’t interpret. He couldn’t talk to anyone. He was sitting there browsing through books and shaking his head when someone asked him if he’d found anything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tony, I will find an answer. I promise,” Stephen told him over lunch, after he'd given him a reassuring hug. Tony had refused to cry, but he'd held on to the taller man for longer than he usually would. It was warm and reassuring and fuck, but if body language was busted, would he even get this?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The engineer nodded, distantly aware that it was the first time the other had used his first name. The sorcerer was obviously worried. With nothing better to do, Tony took him in. Stephen’s hair was all over the place and he had grown dark bags under his eyes. His eyes sparkled with intelligence and concern, but he hadn’t given up yet. He seemed determined to help.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You look like you’re scanning me,” the sorcerer commented after he’d swallowed a bite of his food.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony’s lips twitched into a smile even as his mind began playing with a new possibility. He’d kissed everyone he was close to, right? He needed to expand the list of potential soulmates. Soulmate, that was the keyword: someone who would fit with him and complete him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony had started with physical attraction, because that was obviously important and if he reduced the whole thinking process to that, the man in front of him was a viable option. Now, what else? Chemistry? They had chemistry, that had been obvious from day one, even if no genuine romantic feelings had developed. But was that due to a lack of compatibility, or of interaction? Stephen was a hermit and barely participated in any group activities and even when he did, he mostly kept to himself. Truth be told, Tony had more chemistry with him than with half the people he'd kissed the previous day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tony?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their limited interactions were pleasant enough. It wasn’t that Tony was now sure Stephen was his soulmate, but he wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t. Not anymore. He couldn’t discard him like he would skip over… Peter, for one. No. It was worth a shot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slowly, he stood up, putting the food container on the table. The sorcerer watched him curiously as he walked around to his side, depositing both hands on his shoulders. He wanted to make his intention obvious. Stephen’s eyes briefly widened, but he pushed his own food out of the way. Tony lifted a hand to his cheek, thumb brushing the goatee. The seated man schooled his face into a mask of neutrality, but his eyes betrayed his nervousness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok,” was all he said. If Tony wanted to try him, he would allow it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony bent down to press his lips against the other’s. He’d kissed everyone he even remotely got along with the previous day, but this felt different. His body tingled briefly, like he’d been zapped. It was supposed to be perfunctory, but it ended up rather sweet, like they’d been dating for a while and this was just a gentle reminder of their mutual affection. Tony pulled back and saw Stephen’s eyes flutter open, an obvious question in them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why, doc, that was better than I expected,” Tony said with a smirk, not caring if the words came out scrambled. The sorcerer could probably interpret his facial expression.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stephen’s eyes widened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can understand you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was Tony’s turn to widen his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck, I should’ve just kissed you when you said what the spell was on about!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sorcerer allowed an indulgent smile, but he had more pressing concerns. Was Tony going to ignore that they were soulmates? It was a big deal. He hadn’t even believed those existed until he’d become a sorcerer, but now, knowing Tony was his...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need to call Rhodey. And Pepper. And tell Peter I’m fine,” the engineer rambled, already picking up his phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yes, he was going to abuse his voice now that he had it back, thank you very much. He proceeded to do just that, starting a conference call with the others. He talked for a few minutes continuously, explaining everything and that he was now cured, but he only said that the sorcerer did it. The how exactly, well… it sounded big so it would be done live if anyone asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I assume you will no longer be needing my services,” Stephen finally said after Tony had finished talking to his friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shit. He’d been so caught up in celebrating that he’d neglected the newfound revelation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I will!” Tony assured him. “Dinner? How does that sound to you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, I have to. I want to get to know you. Come on, Merlin, we’re soulmates,” Tony coaxed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He got a shy nod in response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, which restaurant-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pizza and a movie at home,” the sorcerer interjected. “Or fast food. Just at home.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony grinned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pizza and expensive wine? With a bad movie?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn, I should’ve asked you out weeks ago!” Tony replied with a wide grin. That was totally his kind of date. “I’ll be waiting for you to portal in around 8. That ok?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stephen nodded, pulling himself up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should probably tell the others to stop looking for a cure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure. See you tonight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony stole another kiss before leaving. Stephen watched him with a fond smile, lips tingling. He was really looking forward to their date. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Soulmates. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony was his </span>
  <em>
    <span>soulmate.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It was something so important and he'd almost missed it, but no more. They would get to be together now. It wasn’t guaranteed that they would work out, but it was a chance and Stephen had done more with less. He wanted this. He wanted his happy ending.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cloak shook his shoulders, pulling him out of his reverie. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Right.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Let everyone know that Tony was fine.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>"On your left, babe!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stephen rolled his eyes fondly even as he blocked the incoming attack. He threw another ring of fire at the enemy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You can still talk?" the evil warlock asked Tony.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yep. Thanks for the curse, jackass. Found the love of my life," Tony replied, firing a few small rockets.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While the enemy was busy, Stephen snuck behind him and managed to bind him with a magical rope. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You flatter me," Stephen commented, pulling on the rope a bit. He then used several binding spells to ensure the warlock wouldn’t escape.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Experience has shown that flattery will get me everywhere with you," Tony replied, helmet dissolving so his lover could see him wiggle his eyebrows.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stephen smirked, opening a portal under their new prisoner to send him to the Kamar Taj prison. The other masters would take it from there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Only if you're the one flattering me."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tony chuckled. He would always flatter his soulmate.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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